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Community Service Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
1609 19th Avenue, Seattle, Washington 98122-2848
(206) 322-4996 V/TTY
(206) 720-3251 FAX
Email: cscdhh@cscdhh.org
Interpreter Referral Service (206) 322-5551 V/TTY
GA Newsletter
Community Service Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
September 1998, Vol. 17, No. 9
As many of you already know, I am leaving CSCDHH this month for a new job as Executive Director of the Deaf Counseling, Advocacy and Referral Agency (DCARA), in the San Francisco Bay area.
It’s odd, but I have mixed feelings as I write this letter. While I am excited about new opportunities at DCARA, I truly will miss CSCDHH and Seattle. After 18 years in the Pacific Northwest, it will not be easy to pull up roots and resettle in California. I have many good friends and acquaintances here. Almost my entire professional career in deafness has been in Seattle. It was here that I got my education in Deaf culture and American Sign Language. I can truthfully say that Seattle has given me much that will remain in my heart, and that I can bring to my new position.
When I started my job in November 1994, CSCDHH was in serious debt. All staff were working on a temporary basis. It was a time of “roll up your sleeves and work hard” in order to keep CSCDHH afloat. The Board of Trustees developed fundraisers for CSCDHH that the community could participate in. One by one, permanent staff people were hired. A great moment happened in July 1995 when the bank loan was paid off and “burned” in a community ceremony. Today, CSCDHH is financially very healthy. We have no debts. The 1998 budget projects a healthy reserve. Bookkeeping procedures are in place, ably led by Margie Cooper. We were one of the few King County agencies that received additional funds from United Way for 1998-2000.
CSCDHH programs are better than they have ever been. The 9-1-1/TTY Education Program was extended for another year, and recently won awards and commendations for the quality of the program. The Interpreter Referral Service has seen a resurgence of business and handles more referrals than ever before. The Information & Referral Service is known as a great resource for information on deafness and Deaf culture. The Community Advocacy program will be expanding and will serve more people.
CSCDHH’s staff are wonderful and capable people, who truly care about CSCDHH and the community it serves. I leave knowing that CSCDHH is in competent hands. At this time, I would like to welcome Ariele Faulkner, who started August 18 as the Community Advocate/Bookstore Coordinator, Mary Polly Easley, who will start on October 1 as Community Advocate/Executive Assistant, and Jean Healy, who began work as a temporary Volunteer Coordinator on August 21. All three will be wonderful additions to the CSCDHH team. And here, I thank Tom Halseth for his work as Community Advocate for over one year. Tom is leaving to pursue new career paths, and we wish him a lot of luck.
CSCDHH’s future is bright. We are adding staff to make us more efficient in many areas, and to provide more and better service. With CSCDHH’s positive financial picture, the next Executive Director, working with the staff, will be able to focus on programs, services and community.
Where CSCDHH goes from here is up to the community. There are many gaps in services to the deaf, deaf-blind and hard of hearing that need to be identified. For this, CSCDHH needs community input and community participation, as a board member, as a participant in community forums, or as a volunteer on a project. Each of you, if you want to make a difference, must get involved in shaping CSCDHH and its future programs.
I thank all of you for your support while I was Executive Director. It was a privilege to serve you.
CSCDHH Board Meeting
Every 3rd Thursday
6:30 PM
Call to check schedule
Thank You
We thank Billy Seago, who has left the Board of Trustees for the time he
has given to CSCDHH and the community. Also, thanks to Paul Bert for his
work. He has joined another company and we wish him good luck.
The NAD embraces the goals of the World Federation of the Deaf to erase discrimination against deaf and hard of hearing people, to promote educational and employment opportunities, and to ensure that deaf and hard of hearing people enjoy full rights of citizenship.
Deaf Awareness Week celebrates the culture, heritage, and language unique to deaf people. We hope that through the activities and programs planned during this week, that people will understand the differences in the approach to deafness by the hearing public versus that of deaf people themselves; will be able to differentiate between misconception and fact about deaf people and deaf culture; and that everyone will recognize that attitude is the biggest barrier to communication and understanding.
For information, write to: National Association of the Deaf, 814 Thayer Avenue, Silver Spring, MD 20910-4500 and check out the NAD website at: www.nad.org
VideoTTY Videophones (models VC50TTY and VC55TTY), designed especially for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community, allow TTY users to enjoy simultaneous full-color motion video and text communication over a regular telephone connection. The addition of video allows a Deaf person to augment TTY text conversations with both sign language and visual cues. VideoTTY Videophones represent a significant enhancement to standard TTY systems that offer only text-based conversation to a population whose main communication medium is sight.
"A TTY conversation is so dry. VideoTTY adds that extra dimension to a TTY conversation. I visually get that voice inflection or tone that hearing people depend on in their phone conversations," stated Rob Roth, a member of the Seattle Deaf community who is selling the product for Homevision.
The VC50TTY is a compact unit that comes complete with a wireless keyboard and an infrared receiver. VC50TTY connects to a television, a video camera or camcorder, and any standard TTY unit, which is used only to initiate the telephone call. This combination allows a user to simultaneously send and receive live video and text messages, displaying both on the user's TV screen.
The wireless keyboard is a further enhancement, allowing the Deaf user to communicate over the phone from the comfort of his or her favorite living room chair rather than by leaning over their TTY system and reading a small one-line text display. The keyboard allows the user to type untethered from the phone and "watch" the conversation on their TV. The VC50TTY also includes all the standard features found in 8x8 ViaTV Videophones including electronic pan/tilt/zoom camera controls, snapshot mode and CallerID.
The VC55TTY builds on the VC50TTY feature set by adding Internet access and send/receive email capability. Email is a tremendously useful communication medium for hearing impaired persons. The VC55TTY is based on 8x8's VC55 ViaTV Videophone with Web Browser. It can be used with virtually any Internet Service Provider (ISP) and requires no additional monthly charges for persons with an existing Internet account. The VC55TTY comes with an online registration option for AT&T's WorldNet Service for those persons without an existing Internet account. The combination of Internet access, email, video and text communications make the VC55TTY a highly versatile and useful tool for Deaf persons.
Community Service Center For The Deaf & Hard Of Hearing, 1609 19th Avenue
, Seattle, WA 98122.2848. 206.568.1234 TTY, 206.322.4996 Voice,
206.568.1230 Fax, cscdhh@cscdhh.org, Interpreter Referral Service
206.568.1221 TTY, 206.322.5551 Voice; Hours: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday
And Friday, 9 A.M. To 12 Noon; 1 To 5 P.M., Wednesday, 11 A.M. To 6:30
P.M.
Board Of Trustees :
Michael Richardson, President
Dimitri Azadi, Vice-President
John MacWilliams, Member At Large
Greg Townsend, Member At Large
Anne Baldwin
Tom Brown
Terry Dockter
Kim Kirkpatrick
Dale Wilson
Staff:
Rob Roth, Executive Director
Mary Bauer And Lou Massaro, Information & Referral Specialists
Ariele Faulkner, Community Advocate
Carla McAlister and Diana English, Interpreter Referral Service Office
Assistant
Judy Kaddoura, Interpreter Referral Service Manager
Margie Cooper, Fiscal Manager
Gail Ploman, 911/TTY Education Program Coordinator
Jean Healy, Temporary Volunteer Coordinator
September 1998, Volume 17, Number 9
© 1998 Community Service Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing.
GA is published monthly by Community Service Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, 1609 19th Avenue, Seattle, WA 98122-2848.
Editor: Branden Huxtable
Layout: James Sharer
Submission Deadline:
September 10th is the deadline for the articles, flyers, letters,
announcements and advertising in the next issue of the GA Newsletter.
Subscriptions: $20 per year in the U.S. And $24 (U.S. funds) elsewhere.
Send payment in advance to GA, CSCDHH, 1609 19th Avenue, Seattle, WA
98122-2848.
Address all correspondence, including articles, letters, and
comments to the above address.
CSCDHH welcomes letters, articles, and comments from readers. We
reserve the right to edit all submissions for space and clarity.
Opinions and statements expressed in the GA do not necessarily
reflect those of the editor or of the Community Service Center for the
Deaf and Hard of Hearing.
Advertisements: For information about advertising rates, sizes,
etc., please contact CSCDHH. Advertisements for credit/debit cards,
insurance, or travel cannot be accepted due to postal regulations.
Publication of advertisements in the GA newsletter does not in any way
constitute CSCDHH's endorsement of the services or products advertised.
Paul Allen
c/o Jeff Graves
110 - 110th Ave NE, Suite 550
Bellevue, WA 98004
Dear Mr. Allen,
On behalf of the Community Service Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Board of Trustees and the deaf, hard of hearing and deaf-blind community, I would like to congratulate you on your purchase of a Seattle landmark, the Cinerama Theater.
We are pleased to hear that you are working with WGBH of Boston on the Rear Window Captioning Technology in your attempt to make Cinerama Theater accessible to the deaf and hard of hearing population. We are looking forward to the days when we can go to the Cinerama and enjoy a movie just like everyone else.
Again, congratulations and thank you for your consideration in making Cinerama Theater barrier-free to our community.
Sincerely,
Robert I. Roth
Executive Director
Response from Paul G. Allen:
July 23, 1998
Dear Mr. Roth:
Thank you for your kind words and support.
By now, it is common knowledge that watching movies brings me great pleasure. In addition to creating the ultimate movie experience, it is my goal to share that passion with everyone regardless of any physical limitation they may have. The Cinerama Theatre will be such a place and we are pleased and proud to create that environment.
Sincerely,
Paul G. Allen
Saturday, October 17th Seattle Children’s Theatre presents Kenny’s Window at the Charlotte Martin Theatre at Seattle Center. Through the rich fantasy life of an inventive young boy, Kenny’s Window captures the moments in which the independent child begins to yearn for, learn about and reach for a place in the larger world. The ASL interpreted show will be at 2:00 PM. For information, call the Ticket Office at (206) 441-3322 (V).
Wednesday, October 21st 5th Annual ACCESS '98 - Job Fair and Conference & Assistive Technology and Community Resources Expo at the Seattle Center, Northwest Rooms from 9 AM to 4 PM. Free for Persons with Disabilities. For more information or to register, visit website: http://www.accessnw.org or call (800) 398-4730 or (425) 774-3338 (V/TTY).
Friday, October 16th ASLIS presents an evening of storytelling featuring Lou Fant, actor, storyteller extraordinaire! Lou will present tales of the early days of Deaf communities here in America in the style and register of the day. It promises to be a wonderful performance! The event is a fundraiser for ASLIS, tickets will be a sliding scale donation, $15 - $75 each. See enclosed flyer for more information.
Without knowing everything I know now, I felt different from and less than other people. Different because everyone else could hear, and less because everyone else could hear and participate better than I could. Sometimes I felt depressed because of that, but most other times, I ignored it and lived my life. If I understood very little about my situation and what I could do to change it, my friends understood far less.
I had a couple friends from college. I liked them. We did our homework and projects together, went out to dinner, played putt-putt, hiked, laughed and picked on each other, shared notes and gossips, had private jokes, helped each other out, and all those good stuff. Still, for them, wearing hearing aids was very much like wearing glasses. Turn on your hearing aids and the problem is solved. So, all this thing about not hearing, asking to repeat, stuff like that, means either you're not trying hard enough or you need new hearing aids. If nothing else, you can have an operation to fix your ears.
After I graduated from college, I started looking inside myself. Beginning with SHHH and then later in the Deaf community, I started to understand more and more what I had missed before: assisted listening devices, TTYs, interpreters, sign language, listening skills, hearing strategies, and the like. I started meeting more and more people, hearing, hard of hearing and Deaf, who taught me a great deal about myself. I realized that, yes, I am different than hearing people, but, no, I'm no way less than them. Just different and that's cool.
I continued to visit my friends from college. While I changed inside dramatically, my friends stayed the same. I tried telling them from time to time what I had learned, hoping they would help me understand them when they talk, but nothing would click. I still found myself in situations where the background noise overwhelmed anyone talking, no one slowed down to talk to me, or they gave me suggestions such as turn up my hearing aids. The more I visited with them, the more frustrated I became until finally I stopped calling.
I miss them sometimes, but I cannot always expect my friends to change with me. So, letting go of the people from the old life is sometimes what we have to do to move forward.
Western Washington Lutheran Church of the Deaf announces the installation of its new "pastor", Roger D. Blesi, who was ordained on August 9, 1998 in Seattle. Blesi is a 1998 graduate of the Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, Indiana. He will be serving as the missionary-at-large to the deaf in both Western Washington and Alaska.
The Puget Sound Educational Service District Head Start program, which serves King County outside of Seattle and Pierce County outside of Tacoma, is in the process of recruiting for the 1998-99 school year. Families with four-year-old children are eligible for Head Start if they meet income criteria set by the federal government. In some areas three-year-old children are also eligible. The program also serves children with disabilities and a small number of families who are not low income. For more information, please contact Wendy Jans at (206) 439-6910 ext. 2977 (Seattle), or 1-800-664-4549, ext. 2977 (Tacoma).
The Miss Deaf Washington Program is currently under major construction in developing new policies to help suit the needs of the deaf communities and the young contestants in this state and empower them with more guidance and more structure in what is to come. The new policy handbook will be made available to the Washington State Association of the Deaf Board. Also, we are in need of contestants, sponsors, committee members, chaperones, etc. If you can help in any of these areas, please don't hesitate to write to us. Finally, send us any events that will occur in your hometown as soon as possible so we can make an effort to participate. Write to: MDW, 2617 - 123rd Ave. SW, Olympia, WA 98512.
The Helen Keller National Center, NW regional office is seeking a part-time secretary-receptionist. The office is located at 2366 Eastlake Ave. E., Suite 209, Seattle, WA 98102. If interested, please send your resume. For more information, contact Dorothy Walt, (206) 324-1133 (TTY).
Are you looking for work? Do you need assistance in determining your skills, finding the right job, writing your resume, or gaining interview skills? The Washington Coalition of Citizens with disAbilities (WCCD) has an Employment Program that can help you out! If you are unemployed, living in the City of Seattle and are a person with a disability, you are encouraged to join! Services available to participants include (but are not limited to): a peer based Job Club, one-on-one job search assistance, retention services, computer access, job listings and Internet access. In addition, through WCCD and the Seattle Jobs Initiative, free job training classes are available on a limited basis. For further information, please call the Employment Program at (206) 633-6622 (V), or (206) 632-3456 (TTY).
The Northwest Women’s Law Center has recently improved access for Deaf and hard of hearing callers to their legal information and referral line. They have added a direct line for TTY callers and have trained staff on the use of the TTY line and on working with the Deaf and hard of hearing communities. Their TTY number is (206) 521-4317. They do not have a message service on their line as yet. The Law Center’s Line is staffed by volunteer attorneys, law students and paralegals. They answer questions on a variety of legal topics, including family law, employment discrimination, landlord/tenant law, debt law and public benefits law. They offer basic information about legal rights and options, free legal information and self-help kits, referral to community agencies and self-help programs/methods, and when appropriate, referral to an attorney in private practice. The Law Center does not have attorneys on staff to consult with or represent callers. They do not give legal advice.
We at Deaf Entertainment Guild (DEG) cordially invite you to come and look at our new updated DEG MEMBERS pages at http://www.deo.org/deo/deg_members/deg_members_only_page.html. DEG Digital Directory will help the Deaf, Hard of Hearing and Hearing professionals (producers, directors, casting directors, writers, agents, etc.) in the entertainment industry discover Deaf Talents. The directory is for reference open not only to the entertainment industry, but to schools, universities, libraries, theatres, organizations, businesses, keynote speakers, and people in the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community who are interested in the arts (visual and performing) as well.
Where are your priceless photographs? Mine used to be shoved in drawers, boxes or albums that caused the pictures to fade - until I found the perfect solution. Now my photos are organized in a safe scrapbook album that I love looking at and sharing with family and friends. In fact, this solution worked so well for me that I decided to start my own Creative Memories business to share this message with others!
If you are frustrated with how to display your photos, you just might want a little help. I’m here to give you all the assistance you need - not only to start your albums, but to COMPLETE them. I’ve done it, and so can you! Here’s how my Creative Memories business can benefit you:
ORGANIZED - Start by getting your past and present photos in order.
SAFE - Keep your photos from fading and yellowing with an assortment of
photo-safe scrapbook albums and products to ensure your memories last a
lifetime.
MEANINGFUL - Make sure your family stories and history are passed from
generation to generation.
CREATIVE - Your pages can be as simple or creative as you want them to be
- either way I provide the tools and ideas to help.
I teach you all of this and more at Creative Memories Home Classes and continuing workshops. Invite your family and friends to a class in your home and share the fun of learning how to make keepsake albums. Just for inviting them, you’ll receive free or discounted albums and other exclusive gifts as my thanks to you! Reach me at (425) 316-6880 (TTY only) or via e-mail at TetonPines@aol.com
SignLink's large lexicon provides a complete "phonetic" breakdown (how a sign is produced including handshape, palm orientation, location, movement, and non-manual behavior such as facial expressions and posture) for each ASL sign included. Using the CD-ROM's powerful, yet easy-to-use parameter search feature, users can quickly locate an unfamiliar sign. The CD-ROM also allows users to locate signs by traditional type scrolling as well as by word searching.
The grammar module offers tutorials on fingerspelling, numbers, dominance, concepts of time, different types of questions, forming negatives, pronouns, and conversational feedback. The phonetics module provides additional background on the linguistic parameters of ASL and how the language's basic building blocks combine to create signs.
To provide a broad overview on ASL sign language for beginning users, SignLink also includes three specialized learning modules. A module on deaf culture summarizes the history of the deaf in the United States, including profiles of such influential people as Thomas Gallaudet and Alexander Graham Bell.
SignLink is designed to work on computers running either Windows 95 or the Mac OS operating system. For more information, as well as a demonstration of Sorenson Vision's products, visit the Sorenson web site at http://www.s-vision.com.
Counseling Services On Deafness
Seattle Behavioral Health
9706 Fourth Avenue NE, Suite 303
Individual, Couple And Group Counseling - Depression/ Stress/
Anxiety; Relationship Issues; Communication Problems; Child, Family And
Parenting Issues; Trauma And Abuse Recovery; Hearing Loss, Grief And
Transition. Covered by most health plans. Call 206/ 526-8548 TTY Or
206/ 860-5637 V
Eye Exams For The Hearing Impaired
12310 NE 8th, Bellevue, WA 98005
The Eyecare Center is pleased to announce they now have on staff,
Nancy Hunter, Skilled in Sign Language, to assist during eye
examinations. Call for an appointment, 425/ 455-0001 V
Marlyn Minkin, LMFT/LMHC
Sheryl Kool, MA/LMHC
1750 - 112th Avenue, Northeast, Suite C-240, Bellevue, WA 98004. (206)
688-8073 (V/TDD)
Counselors And Consultants Specialized In Deaf, Hard Of Hearing,
And Deaf-Blind Individuals And Families. Experienced In Grief & Loss,
Self-Esteem, Abuse Issues, Relationships, Depression, Family Issues,
Communication, Personal Growth.
Serving all your investment needs. Innovative Financial Solutions from
Prudential Securities. Stocks & Bonds, Cds, IRAs, Mutual Funds,
Retirement Planning, U.S. Treasury Securities. Fluent in A.S.L. Brian
Crouch, Financial Advisor, 1201 Third Avenue, Suite 3500, Seattle, WA
98101. (206) 344-6528 (V/TTY).
Creative Memories. Home Classes & Workshops, Photosafe Albums &
Supplies, Group Presentations, Business Opportunities. Holly Parker
Jensen, Creative Memories Consultant, (425) 316-6880 (TTY), e-mail:
TetonPines@AOL.com
Oktodeafest - Oktober 23-25 1998. Where: CSCDHH 1609 19th Avenue, Seattle. Big Three days Oktobdeafest - Friday of 23rd: 6 PM to 10 PM, Saturday of 24th: 11 AM to 8 PM, Sunday of 25th: 11 AM to 5 PM. Admission: $1.00 / 3 days. Why?? Support GSCD/ 1999 NWAAD Softball Tournaments and CSCDHH for fundraising events. Special notes: We will provide dart, tv and some entertainment. Any Questions: Tony Strong, Chairperson (253) 852-9459 TTY.
Washington State DSHS Telecommunications Access Service (TAS), Washington State Relay Service. All calls can be made anywhere and anytime! Washington TRS 800 numbers are: (800) 833-6388 TTY, (800) 833-6384 Voice, (800) 833-6385 Telebraille, (800) 833-6398 Spanish/TTY, (800) 833-6399 Spanish/Voice, (900) 646-3323 900 Services, (800) 855-4000 Sprint Operator Services. For more information, call Message Lines 1-800-422-7941 TTY, 1-800-422-7930 Voice, Direct Lines 350-902-8001 V/TTY Or Write: Office of Deaf & Hard of Hearing Services P.O. Box 45300 Olympia, WA 98504-5300. For more information contace Sprint 24-hour Customer Service: TTY/Voice: 1 (800) 676-3777 Fax: 1 (877) 877-3291 Email: Sprint.TRSCustServ@mail.sprint.com
ASLIS is proud to present: An evening of ASL storytelling with Lou Fant. Join us for this special evening with Lou Fant, actor and storyteller extraordinaire! Lou will present tales of the early days of Deaf communities here in America in the style and register of the day. Plus Door Prizes! When? Friday, October 16, 1998 at 8 PM. Where? Community Service Center for the Deaf & Hard of Hearing (CSCDHH) 1609 19th Avenue, Seattle. Cost? $15 -$75 per person by October 1, 1998 (After October 1, at the door, $20 and up; tickets subject to availability). This is a fundraiser for ASLIS, your contribution will help support the school’s growth and expansion. No refunds after October 9, 1998. Interpreter? No voice interpretation will be provided. Request tactile or close-visual interpreters by October 1. For more information call ASLIS at 206/860-3503 v/tty or email aslis@juno.com
Counseling Services on Deafness Presents Boundary Power. How I Treat You. How I let You Treat Me. How I Treat Me. This workshop helps you identify boundaries and boundary violations and understand the roots of boundary problems. We will teach you how to set clear, healthy boundaries in your relationships. Learn to be open to others without allowing them to take advantage of you. Take charge of your life, expand your freedom and improve your relationships. This Free workshop will be provided by Holly Jensen, M.A. and Brent Anderson, B.A. on September 10, Thursday at 7:00 PM. Northgate Delta Building 9706 Fourth Ave. NE Suite 303. TTY: (206) 860-5646
Join CSCDHH today and become involved making CSCDHH the dynamic agency
for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community in Northwest Washington State!
Joining helps support services for you and your community.
CSCDHH Membership Benefits:
Subscription to the GA Newsletter
Voting privileges at the Annual Meeting
10% Discount on Bookstore merchandise
...And Much More!
Name(s): Address: City: State: Zip: Organization: Home Phone: ( ) Circle One: Voice TTY Voice/TTY Work Phone: ( ) Circle One: Voice TTY Voice/TTY Fax: ( ) Email: [ ] Individual $25 [ ] Household, 2 Adults $35 [ ] Each Additional Household Members $10 [ ] Senior Individual $20 [ ] Senior Household $30 [ ] Non-Profit Organization $50 [ ] Business $100 [ ] Newsletter Subscription Only, $20 Per Year In U.S. $20 ($24 U.S. Funds Elsewhere) Newsletter Preference: [ ] Regular [ ] Large Print [ ] Braille [ ] Grade 1 [ ] Grade 2 Donation Enclosed: Total Enclosed Please clip and mail this with check or money order payable to CSCDHH. Mailing Address: CSCDHH, 1609 19th Avenue, Seattle, Washington 98122-2848
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